Omaha Hi-Lo (also known as Omaha 8 or better) is frequently viewed as one of the most difficult but favored poker variations. It is a game that, even more than regular Omaha poker, invites play from every level of players. This is the chief reason why a once irrelevant variation, has increased in popularity so quickly.
Omaha hi/low starts exactly like a regular game of Omaha. 4 cards are given out to each player. A round of wagering follows where gamblers can bet, check, or drop out. 3 cards are dealt out, this is known as the flop. One more round of betting happens. Once all the gamblers have in turn called or dropped out, another card is flipped on the turn. Another sequence of betting follows at which point the river card is flipped. The entrants will need to put together the strongest high and low five card hands using the board and hole cards.
This is the point where many entrants often get baffled. Unlike Texas Holdem, in which the board can make up every player’s hand, in Omaha hi/lo the player has to utilize exactly three cards on the board, and precisely two cards from their hand. No more, not a single card less. Contrary to normal Omaha, there are two ways a pot might be won: the "higher hand" or the "low hand."
A high hand is exactly how it sounds. It’s the best possible hand out of every player’s, whether that is a straight, flush, full house. It is the very same concept in just about all poker games.
The lower hand is more complicated, but certainly opens up the play. When figuring out a low hand, straights and flushes don’t count. the lowest hand is the weakest hand that can be put together, with the worst being made up of A-2-3-4-5. Since straights and flushes don’t count, A-2-3-4-5 is the worst possible hand. The low hand is any five card hand (unpaired) with an eight and lower. The lower hand wins half of the pot, as just like the high hand. When there’s no low hand available, the high hand takes the whole pot.
It may seem difficult initially, following a couple of hands you will be able to pick up on the base subtleties of play easily enough. Seeing as you have people betting for the low and betting for the high, and since such a large number of cards are being used at once, Omaha/8 provides an exciting array of betting possibilities and owing to the fact that you have many players trying for the high, and many shooting for the low hand. If you like a game with a lot of outs and actions, it is worth your time to play Omaha/8.
